Death of Batman
by Lil' Candy
Summary: Batman's dying and the effects of his death hit his family and the Justice League harder than they could have imagined. I Revised the final chapter, the ending is a little more satisfying.
1. Chapter 1

Death of Batman

all characters owned by DC comics, and not me

Well the Justice League had another group of criminals in custody. Superman and Green Lantern were handing them over to the proper authorities and Batman and Flash were checking their hide out for any evidence that may have been over looked.

"I've zipped through this whole building, Bats. I didn't see anything," said Flash.

"Are you sure you checked everywhere?"

"Yup."

"Did you check the basement?"

"Umm . . . there's a basement?"

"Never mind. I'll check, you help Lantern and Superman."

"Okey-dokey," said Flash and he ran off.

Outside, Lantern and Superman had the group restrained and loaded up in a police van. When Flash arrived Green Lantern asked if he had found anything. Flash replied in the negative and Superman asked where Batman was. One of the criminals started to giggle.

"What's so funny, ugly?" asked Flash.

"Oh nothing, just a little surprise."

"What surprise?" asked Superman.

Superman received his answer in the form of an exploding building. Green Lantern tried to cover the brunt of the explosion by forming a green orb around the building. He didn't get all of it since it took them by surprise, but he minimized the danger. Unfortunately covering the building meant all the debris fell in on itself, on its foundation, on the basement, on Batman. Flash and Superman tried to help as many bystanders as possible until Flash yelled to Superman.

"Supes! Bats is in the basement!"

"You take care of these people. I'll try to get through the rubble," said Superman. Getting through the rubble was easier said than done, even for Superman. If he just crashed through he risked making the situation worse for Batman, not to mention he had yet to locate where Batman was, and his X-ray vision was doing much good in the lead lined former building.

When Batman split up from Flash he headed to the basement, completely unaware that the ceiling of the basement had been built with a rather large bomb inside it. Batman didn't realize the explosion happened until he was flat on his back, underneath rubble and debris with a jagged piece of metal sticking through his abdomen. The pain was searing and it was difficult to breathe. As a matter of fact Batman was coughing up blood and beginning to choke on it.

The human mind works very quickly. That's why in the moment before death, your whole life can flash before your eyes. Batman's mind worked even quicker and he had time to not only see his whole life flash before his eyes, but he managed to contemplate it, and sum his thoughts up into a soliloquy.

_This is it. I've been in situations like this before, but this is the end. Strange, I felt strange when I was coming down here. I didn't realize this would be my final hour. Tim was right. He told me I would face super villain after super villain, but would probably die by slipping in the shower on some soap. He was just joking then, and this isn't the shower, but it certainly isn't a bullet from the Joker. And what will happen to Tim? To Dick? Alfred? Was it all worth it? Crime won't end with me. So was it all in vain? Has everything I've done been a mistake? I don't believe in an afterlife, but if there is one, and if I see my parents, would they be proud. I'm sure they would have rather had a son who settled down and gave them grandchildren. I'm the last in the Wayne line. That's a shame. But I was a parent, to Dick and Tim, and therein lies a regret. I wish things would have been better between me and Dick. He'll never forgive me, and I can't blame him. Not only that, but I saw myself making the same mistakes with Tim and I didn't do anything to stop myself, so perhaps this is for the best. I'm sure whoever cares for Tim will be a better parent. I've left them everything I have. Dick gets the bulk of the estate, but Tim and Alfred will be well taken care of. They all have shares in Wayne Corp. that will keep them set for the rest of their lives. They'll be free to do whatever they wish, whether its crime fighting or folk dancing. I wonder if they will continue on as heroes. Something tells me Tim won't, and good for him if he doesn't, if he finds a better life. I know Barbara will, in and out of the police department, and I know she'll make a difference. But now it's getting harder to breathe. And I can feel myself going, and suddenly there's no more pain and I see light and color, blue and red. Blue and red? Superman? Leave it to him to meddle with my death scene, but it doesn't matter, it just means I'll die in the air._ And things went dark for Batman.


	2. Chapter 2

Superman and Green Lantern managed to get to Batman. Batman was rushed to the Javelin and taken to the watchtower. Flash was instantly transported, but with Batman's injuries that just wasn't possible to do safely. Of course exiting the atmosphere wasn't good for his injuries either, but they had no choice.

Batman's injuries were worked on, but things just didn't look good. Everything that could possibly be done was done and Batman lay in the medical ward, unconscious and with a weak pulse. It was generally agreed upon that Batman was waiting to die, so much so that Superman contacted Wayne manor and informed them of the situation. Nightwing and Robin were transported to the Watchtower. There wasn't much time and the two were led to his room. It was hard for them to look at, not because Batman looked particularly emaciated or anything, but just to see the Caped Crusader in his full outfit (it was put back on him after surgery, the Big 7 . . . umm . . . 6 decided he would like to die that way), laying on his back and hooked up to a bunch of different machines, was tragic. Robin and Nightwing took a seat on each side of Batman and waited. They weren't the only ones. There was a window in Batman's room that looked into the hallway. A large group of heroes had gathered around it to watch Batman in what they believed to be his final moments. Periodically one of the Big 7 . . . umm . . . 6, would shoo away the crowd.

"This isn't a zoo, people . . ." said Green Lantern around 10:00.

"Leave now or this mace is going upside all of your heads!" said Shayera at about 12:00.

"Remove yourselves," said J'onn at about 12:45.

"Don't you people have any respect!" said an irritated Wonder Woman at about 2:15.

"Hey, get outta here!" said Flash at 3:30 exactly.

"I think we owe Batman a little more than turning him into a public spectacle," said Superman at 4:20."

By 5:30 Nightwing took Robin's cape and hung it in the window, so no one could see anything.

By 6:00, Robin took it back and was using it as blanket.

Batman had survived the night, but things didn't look any better. If anything they looked worse. Superman spent the entire day catering to Nightwing and Robin and attempting to comfort them, but neither was very responsive. Batman was dying and there was nothing anyone could do. All expected that he would be gone by the night. The other heroes did their best to deal with the loss.

Shayera was taking it to the training room like nobody else could. She actually broke a considerable amount of equipment. J'onn was much quieter than usual; he spent most of the day in meditation. Flash ate very little and Green Lantern ate everything in site. Wonder Woman spent all day in her room. By nightfall Superman was trying to coax Tim and Dick into eating something. He brought them some food. They picked at it and tried to eat but all of their energy was focused on a prone Batman. As the night went on, Superman came in (after shooing away another crowd) to check on everything. Robin looked like he was asleep, but Nightwing showed no signs of physical fatigue, although it was hard to tell with the mask on. Robin's mask was off. He kept taking it off to wipe his teary eyes and eventually he left it off completely.

"Any change?" asked Superman.

"No," said Nightwing, "Is there any place where Tim can lie down and go to sleep?"

"I'm not asleep, I'm just resting my eyes," said Robin.

"You're sleeping, Tim," said Nightwing.

"No, I'm not and I'm Robin, now," Tim said through a yawn.

"Fine," replied Nightwing.

"Have you gotten any rest?" Superman asked Nightwing.

"No."

"How is Alfred taking this?"

"Batman isn't dead yet, Superman," said Nightwing.

"I wasn't . . . I didn't mean . . . I'm sorry. I just want to help," said Superman. Nightwing sat in silence. "You know Dick, if you need anything, anything at all, you can always come to me." Nightwing didn't respond. "It's amazing you two aren't related. You're just like him," said Superman.

"Too much like him and yet not enough."

"What do you mean?"

"I should have been there for him."

"Dick you couldn't have . . ."

"I'm not talking about the explosion. I'm talking about the past few years. I'm talking about me being angry at him for cutting himself off and then doing the same thing. I'm talking about being so desperate for "independence" that he'll never know how I felt about him. He'll never know that in my head, I called him Dad. Because I was so selfish . . ."

"Dick you're being too hard on yourself," said Superman.

"You don't know what you're talking about. I was so desperate to break free, but I didn't mind taking his money. I never realized how much of my "independence" was completely dependent on him. And now what? Who's going to take care of Wayne Corp.? The house? The cave? Tim and Alfred? God, I don't know how to plan a funeral? Two funerals, because this is going to kill Alfred. His heart's breaking, I know it, I saw it when he told me. Barbara is back home trying to take care of Gotham, but how can she do that with this on her mind? What am I supposed to do now?"

"Dick, you aren't alone in this," said Superman.

"But I am alone. I'm as alone as he was, because now I know how lonely it is to have to take care of everyone and everything. I thought he was being cold, but he was just trying to pull everything together for us, not just for us, for a whole city. How's a man supposed to do that and still be the perfect father, son, and friend? Huh? How much can one man do?"

"Dick, I loved Batman," Superman said to his own surprise, "but he constantly put too much pressure on himself. He was not alone and he didn't have to be alone. Just look at all of us. I'm certain everyone who knew him would have bent over backwards for him if he asked, even if he didn't."

"Tim's asleep. Is there somewhere he could lie down?" said Dick. Superman noticed the subject change and sighed.

"Yes, I'll take him to another room in the infirmary," said Superman.

"I'll take him; just tell me where it is."

"I'll lead the way."

Nightwing walked over to Robin and began to pick him up. A groggy Robin looked up to Nightwing and said, "Don't worry Charlie, he left you the factory." Then Robin fell back to sleep. Nightwing picked him up bridal style and Superman led them to another room were Robin could sleep on an actual bed. Two and a half tense hours later, Robin woke up and began looking around. He exited the room and started looking around; _where am I and how do I get back to Bruce's room?_ Robin stood around looking confused until Black Canary came walking down the hallway. Robin asked Canary which way Batman's room was. One bird-themed hero led the other until they came upon the room in question. Black Canary wanted to say something to help the obviously hurting boy, but could come up with nothing suitable to say.


	3. Chapter 3

Nightwing was still sitting next to Batman whose pulse was getting weaker.

"I had a dream about Bruce," said Robin.

"Oh," answered Nightwing.

"We were in the hallway in the manor, but everything was really bright, like super-bright, and Bruce said that he would stay for as long as we need him. He said he wouldn't go until we said it was okay." Nightwing didn't respond. "I think he was trying to tell us something."

"You just had a dream, Tim. Bruce's condition has been on your mind, so naturally you dreamed about it."

"When you see a dead person in your dream you're supposed to listen to them."

"He's not dead!" shouted Nightwing.

"Maybe he should be," Robin said quietly.

"How dare you, after everything he's done for you, you're wishing death on him?"

"I don't want Bruce to die, but I don't want him to suffer either. The med team said there's no reason he should have lived through the night, let alone all day."

"So what? He's strong."

"What if he's only sticking around because of us?"

"Well, good."

"It's not good if . . . if . . . it's his time."

"Just shut up," said Nightwing, and Robin left the room.

Superman was drinking tea. Well, he was trying to drink tea, but his hands were shaking. Batman's impending loss was casting its shadow over the entire Watchtower, and it hit the Man of Steel especially hard. All superheroes want to be effective. They want to make the world better and safer. For a hero, helplessness is the worst feeling in the world, and helplessness in a situation where a loved one is in pain, that's a terrible feeling for anyone.

"Superman?" asked a familiar voice.

"Robin, did . . . did something happen?"

"No, except I pissed Dick off."

"What do you mean?"

"Superman, is your Martian friend here?"

"J'onn, yes, he's always here."

"He can read people's minds right?"

"Yes."

"Does he have to be, like, right next to them?"

"Why are you asking this?"

"Well, I had this dream . . ."

Nightwing was trying to forget what Tim said, but was having difficulty. Death was a bad thing, it separated loved ones, it wasn't something to wish on anyone, especially not your parent. No child should be without their parents, but Dick wasn't a child. He was a grown man, as he tried to prove to Bruce for a long time, so why did he feel like a child? Like the small, scared child that watched helplessly as his parents fell to their deaths doing a routine that they had done a thousand times, doing a routine that he had just done a second before. And it was happening again. He was losing his parent and there was nothing he could do.

"So can you do it?" asked Robin.

"I am afraid I cannot," said J'onn.

"Oh," said a disappointed Robin.

"Why not J'onn?" asked Superman.

"Invading his mind while he is in such a delicate position could be fatal," said J'onn.

"Thanks anyway, J'onn," said Robin, then he turned and walked back to Batman's room.

"I didn't know telepathy could be fatal," said Superman.

"It is not," said J'onn.

"Then why did you tell Robin . . ."

"Because, I didn't want to know what Batman's final thoughts are."

"J'onn . . ."

"Superman, as a telepath I have a lot of invasive power. Only I alone can decide when my powers are ethical and unethical to use. I believe now, that in Batman's final hour, he deserves the privacy of his own thoughts."


	4. Chapter 4

Robin walked back into Batman's room. Dick gave him a nasty look, but he ignored him. Robin walked straight up to Batman's face and kissed his cheek. Robin began to speak.

"I love you Bruce. Thank you for giving me a home, for giving me the best home I've ever had. Thank you for everything you've done for me. I'm really scared now because I don't know what's going to happen to me, but I know that it's right to tell you this. You've been a wonderful father and friend and we all love you. But if . . . if you need to go, then that's okay. You deserve peace and rest and if it's your time, then you should be able to go peacefully; no regrets, no worries, just go with God." Robin whispered the last phrase, then Nightwing slapped him across his face.

"How dare you! How dare you! Who do you think you are? Who are you to tell him to leave?"

"I'm someone who loves him," said Robin holding his face.

"No, I love him. I'm his son; you're just some kid he pulled off the street."

"You're not his son; you're just some selfish ingrate who thought you were better than him. Why do you care that he stays now, when you're the one who left him first," said Robin.

"Shut up!"

"You're just selfish."

"Shut up!"

"You don't care that he devoted his whole life to taking care of other people. Even now when he needs you, you won't let him go. You still want someone to take care of you."

"You don't understand, he's my father."

"He's my father, too. Do you think I want him to die? Don't you think I'm scared too? What's gonna happen to me after he's gone? I don't want to live on the street again, but I know it's wrong to make him suffer. He's dying, and you have to say goodbye. You have to say goodbye or he's going to leave and he's going to be sad that you didn't say goodbye to him. He's gonna think he did something wrong. Do you want him to spend the rest of eternity being sad? Do you want him to think he did something wrong to you?" Robin was crying.

"But I need him. I need him. I can't go through this again. I'm not a child anymore. If he dies, I'll be alone. I won't have anyone." Nightwing was crying and shouting.

"You see, you're still being selfish."

"Shut up! Shut up!" said Nightwing. He moved to Robin's side of the bed and actually shook the boy by his collar. There was already a crowd watching them, but the fight drew an even bigger one. Green Arrow and Vigilante ran in and pulled Nightwing off of Robin. Vixen contacted Green Lantern and told him what happened. Green Lantern contacted Superman and related the story to him. Superman rushed down to the room and cleared it off everyone except himself, Nightwing, and Robin; although a second later Wonder Woman chose to insert herself into the mix.

"What's going on here?" asked Superman. No one answered him. No one spoke until Nightwing did.

"I'm sorry, Tim," Nightwing whispered.

"I know, I'm sorry, too," said Robin.

Nightwing sat back down and Robin left the room. Wonder Woman and Superman felt very ineffective. They wanted to take care of Batman's boys, but were doing a horrible job. Wonder Woman followed Robin out, and Superman turned to Nightwing.

"Are you all right, Dick?"

"No, I'm not all right Superman, and frankly I'm tired of you asking."

"I'm just trying to help."

"You're always trying to help. Well, this time you can't help. You can't do anything for me, so just leave me alone," said Nightwing. Superman left and Nightwing was alone with his father.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm sorry you had to hear me and Tim arguing. I'm sorry if I'm being selfish, but I can't help it. I want you to stay with me. I want you to wake up and be the man you were, the man I admired for most of my life, the man who I called Dad. I don't want you to be the dearly departed," said Nightwing as he broke into tears. "You can't leave us, Bruce. We're not ready. I'm not ready!" Nightwing took off his mask, put his head in his hands and cried. Eventually the crowd gathered back at the window and someone, well several people, saw Nightwing crying. Someone alerted Superman, who came back to try and comfort Nightwing.

_Where am I? This is one of the rooms in the med ward. It's dark in here. Why are all those people at the window? Dick is crying. Why is Dick crying, and why is Superman here? Why is he crying, too? And why are those people still at the window? Wait, if I'm in the Watchtower, why is Dick here? Is he joining the League? Why didn't anyone say anything to me? How dare they not tell me Dick is joining. I bet this was Superman's idea. Do they know I'm awake? No I'm wearing my mask, they can't see my eyes. I can't move. I must be hurt. Yes, there was an accident, but my side should hurt because there was something stuck in it. I was in pain; I remember I was in pain there. Did someone stab me? No, I wouldn't let anyone stab me. I was trapped, there was a building collapse, but it wasn't a normal collapse. I think there was an explosion. Doesn't anyone know that I'm awake? Enough of this, J'onn can you hear me? _

Wonder Woman was sitting in the cafeteria with Robin. Robin made it clear he didn't want to talk, so the two were sitting in silence, until Wonder Woman heard something in her ear.

"He's awake! Robin he's awake!"

"What?"

"Bruce is awake!"

"What!" The two heroes (well, one hero, one sidekick) ran down the hallway.

Word spread through the Watchtower like wild fire and just about every hero in the Watchtower was gathered around the room (that's over 60 people, and Atom Smasher alone is like over five people). However, that snooty royal upbringing let Wonder Woman push through the crowd forcefully and shamelessly as she entered the room with Robin behind her.

In the room was Dick crying on Batman's chest, but they were tears of joy. Robin immediately joined him. Batman's mask had been pulled off and was behind his head. He still couldn't move or speak, but his eyes said it all. He was confused, really, really, confused, but he got the gist of it. He was hurt and everyone was happy that he was okay, although they never made this kind of fuss before. Superman, J'onn, and Flash were in the room. Green Lantern and Shayera came moments after Wonder Woman and they dispersed the crowd altogether. Green Lantern made a big, green cow catcher and moved the crowd. Shayera just threatened them, which was equally as effective.

Batman's recovery went well, although for him it was unbearably slow. His friends and family put him on twenty-four hour watch. Everyone who knew Batman knew that if left on his own, he would push himself too hard. Robin returned home first, Nightwing stuck around. He decided he would go home when Batman did. When Batman finally did return home he was still on twenty-four hour watch. Alfred even alerted Bruce Wayne's secretary not to allow Mr. Wayne to do anything to physically strenuous. Bruce told her to ignore Alfred, but when Bruce was invited to a celebrity golf tournament, his secretary told Mr. Wayne he was asked to make a donation to the charity sponsoring the tournament and "forgot" to mention the golf part. Alfred made sure she wasn't fired. Bruce attempted to put in extra work out time secretly, but Alfred put a stop to that. Just when Bruce was about to start climbing the walls, the Bat-family finally allowed him back in the Bat-cave (they literally barricaded the entrances when no one was using it). Although they were worried about his health, they were all happy to have him back. Nobody protects Gotham City like Batman. The Justice League felt the same way and tried to convince Batman to become a full member, Batman would have none of that. Although Batman did nominate another hero for membership: Nightwing. Flash immediately nicknamed Nightwing 'Batman light,' that is until he found himself on the business end of a "misplaced" batarang, but that's another story.


End file.
